Leah and Daria (2011)

It’s been out in theaters for quite a while now, so I guess I’m curious to see what you all think about it. 😁 Personally, I thought it was pretty good, though maybe—I don't know—it felt like there were a few plot holes toward the end. 😁

I wonder if our colleague MuhanaZid was the one who designed this poster, because I suppose it bears a striking resemblance to his particular style:

The biggest issue here has to be the script; the storytelling feels incredibly rushed, and more importantly, those crucial moments just aren't given enough room to breathe. I don't think it’s because the movie was too action-packed to fit everything in, either—it feels more like the director spent way too much energy on trivial details, which eventually leads the whole thing into this sort of monotonous, irritating territory. Honestly, I’m not even sure why the movie is titled the way it is, especially since that second girl barely gets five minutes of screen time... there are so many characters passing through the story, but they just drift by without any real effort to make us care about them, so when they get deported at the end, you're kind of left wondering, "Wait, who even are you?" I suppose there are other flaws too, though I’ve already started to forget some of them.

On the other hand, the cinematography is great; the period setting is captured so beautifully and feels really immersive, so the movie definitely looks good visually... I’d probably give it a 5/10.

Leah Deutsch? You mean that little girl who died on her way to the concentration camp?

I just can't bring myself to watch movies like that...

Rachel Young3 said:Leah Deutsch? You mean that little girl who died on the way to the concentration camp?

I don't think I could ever bring myself to watch movies like that.

Don't worry too much, you probably won't end up crying, and honestly, I'm not sure if you'll even feel sad... it just depends on how much the movie actually manages to pull at your heartstrings.

Jamie Nelson10 said:Don't worry, you won't cry. Honestly, you probably won't even feel anything... the movie just isn't capable of being moving...

Good grief, then 😳

Oh, come on, you can't really be complaining now. 🤣 I mean, the girl sitting next to me at the theater was practically sobbing by the end. 😁

It feels to me like we don't actually get much focus on Daria since the whole movie is told through lein's eyes—you know, just how she perceived everything happening around her. 🤷 The biggest plot hole, though, has to be that missing proposal scene; Stephen just suddenly tells Ivy that Thaddeus asked for lein's hand in marriage out of nowhere. 😕

driftingmarlin4 said:Well, there's no point in crying about it now. 🤣 I actually had a girl sitting next to me in the theater who was weeping by the end. 😁

I suppose it feels like there isn't much focus on Daria, mostly because the whole story seems to be filtered through lein's perspective—you know, how she perceives everything happening around her. 🤷 The biggest plot hole, in my opinion, is that missing scene where someone actually asks for permission; Stephen just suddenly mentions to Ivy that Thaddeus asked for lein's hand in marriage. 😕

I mean, I agree that it's seen through her eyes, but I feel like they really should have shown certain moments to help drive the plot forward and make it feel a bit more connected... amidst all the chaos and tragedy unfolding, we don't see a single coherent conversation between her parents regarding the situation... plus, she wasn't exactly young enough to be oblivious to how serious everything was... and that part where she storms into the rehearsal, the security guard ignores her, and she tells him, "I need to see the director immediately," honestly just cracked me up; it definitely wasn't some deep, heavy drama moment...🙂...

I was watching some stuff on PBS the other day 🍿

I honestly can't stand movies that drag on forever just to end with a " oh boy, we're running out of film! just wrap it up " kind of vibe
They could have actually shown us how the characters ended up instead of just slapping text on a screen at the very end. I read somewhere that Leah recovered from that childhood bronchitis while she was on the train, but they didn't even mention it during the movie 🤷 She could have at least let out a little cough on the train...

Was her teacher actually gay, or did they just throw that in there to be trendy?

That second girl from the title barely even shows up. And why was she playing the part of Isaac instead of some boy? 🤷

I wouldn't say the movie was bad—it was actually pretty solid. I’d read some rather harsh reviews beforehand, which honestly primed me to go in expecting total nonsense, but I ended up enjoying it all things considered. Of course, it suffers from those typical flaws found in most American indie productions—dragging certain scenes out unnecessarily and leaving plot points completely unexplained—but, well, that’s just the nature of the beast with domestic cinema. I even found myself feeling a bit sympathetic toward Leah and her family. Also, I have to side with Rachel Young3 regarding Daria; her name is right there in the title, yet she ends up being nothing more than a background character.

I caught it by accident a while back, then saw it popping up on ABC the other day. The movie was just okay..

I can't tell if it's just me, or if the actors are actually that desperate. It’s honestly painful to watch. 🙂🤷
Watching such terrible acting is just uncomfortable. What is even happening here? It’s all just overacting. There isn't a single good performance in the bunch. It feels fake and pathetic. I'm pretty disappointed. ☕🙄

That other girl is living in Denver now

The dad was the only one who made it out alive! He passed away back in '59

Everyone else was killed in the concentration camp

Just like Anne Frank

Larry Walker24 said:that other little girl is living in Innsbruck today

The dad was the only one who made it out alive... he passed away back in '59

Everyone else? Murdered in the concentration camps

Just like Anne Frank...

We actually paid attention and read the credits at the end of the movie... 🤣

Rachel Young3 said:We aren't idiots, we saw the credits at the end of the movie 🤣

My bad, I haven't seen the flick so I don't really know

It’s a decent concept, but I think the casting was just a poor choice! (At times, it feels almost tragicomic how much people struggle with bad acting or just plain terrible scripts.) Such a shame...

I honestly have no idea who you guys think gave a bad performance here? 🙄 Or is this just one of those things where it’s like, "Oh, they're American, so let's just start blasting their acting immediately"?

driftingmarlin4 said:I honestly have no idea who among you actually gave a bad performance here. 🙄 Is this that typical thing where people just assume someone's acting is trash simply because they're American? Just immediate backlash based on nationality.

What? Honestly, I’m just looking at this realistically. Because it’s an American production, I actually wanted them to nail the acting. But they didn't. Not even close.
I honestly felt nauseous watching that. I couldn't even finish it. There wasn't a single ounce of actual acting in the whole thing—just constant overacting and totally fake performances. Even Bojan Gregorić was terrible in her role. Everything about it felt forced. I can't shake this gross, lukewarm feeling I get whenever I look at them.

I don't get why you think people would start attacking the actors just because they're American. 🤷 I’m at my happiest when the acting is actually legit. Around here? Not happening. In my opinion, they miss the mark completely. If you think they're good, that's fine. Whatever. ☕

I honestly don't get how anyone could make a movie about a family being torn apart at Auschwitz and fail to trigger even a shred of sadness. Instead, I was just sitting there feeling thrilled, practically counting down the minutes until the credits rolled. It was a terrible film. Boring, half-baked, and the characters were so one-dimensional you couldn't care less about them if you tried. 🙂

Brandon Fox2 said:What a brilliant concept, completely ruined by some truly abysmal casting! It’s almost tragicomic at times—you can't tell if these actors are just struggling that hard or if they're simply drowning in a sea of terrible dialogue. Such a shame...

Spot on! You’ve got that right. The kids have a certain charm, almost like they belong in a classic Hollywood coming-of-age flick, but the rest of the cast? Well, they're something else entirely. And then there's that one thing that makes our American cinema feel so uniquely... let's call it "distinct." It's the sound design. My god! You'll have actors whispering, whimpering, or even just floorboards creaking, only to have the orchestral score absolutely drown out every single word they say!

Oh boy... what a disaster!🙂

Is CNN really promoting this movie as if it were a full series??😕😕 I honestly can't wrap my head around it.